The New Trier High School Science Department is set to undergo significant renovations in the coming years, with major updates planned for its laboratories. These upgrades aim to modernize the facilities, integrate cutting-edge equipment, and enhance the overall learning experience for students.

Since the 1990s, New Trier has maintained the same lab spaces even as other parts of the school, such as the east and west sides of the building have undergone renovations. Now, administrators are focused on updating the science labs as well. After multiple board meetings and careful consideration, it has been decided that, if everything proceeds as scheduled, renovations will begin in the summer following the 2024-25 school year. The project is expected to span three summers to ensure a smooth transition without major disruptions to students while in school.

One of the key changes in the renovation plan involves restructuring and expanding the number of available lab spaces.

Currently, science classes follow a different schedule than other classes, alternating between 80-minute lab periods in dedicated lab spaces and 40-minute lecture periods in traditional classrooms. However, with the new system, each science class will meet exclusively in lab rooms. 

“As we switch towards most of our science classes being just one period, we don’t have enough lab rooms as of right now,” Science Department Chair Jason English said. “Part of that is, as we switch to single-period science, every science class will meet every day in the labs. That means we need more rooms to accommodate all of these courses.”

To accommodate this need, the department plans to renovate 10 ten labs, ensuring every science class has a lab room.

Beyond expanding capacity, the renovations will also introduce functional improvements, particularly regarding the use of space. The current lab rooms are designed as dual-purpose classrooms, with a lecture area at the front and a lab workspace at the back. This layout has presented challenges due to limited space in both sections.

“Currently, we have a very small space in both the lecture and lab portion of the classroom,” Dr. David Haak, a science teacher, said. “When we redo the space, we’re going to move toward a single-function design, incorporating movable lab stations. These can be arranged to create a traditional lecture setting, with everyone facing the board, or they can be shifted around to form lab tables, giving students more flexibility for hands-on experiments.”

This change will optimize the available space, transforming formerly cramped classrooms into more adaptable and efficient learning environments.

Additionally, some lab rooms on the first floor will be repurposed for administrative offices, requiring certain science labs and classrooms to be moved and will result in the science department being spread throughout the first, second, and third floor.

“The administrative offices, like the principal’s office and the Adviser Chair offices, are all moving toward the north side of the building and into the science lab spaces,” English said. “Because of that, we need to shift some of our lab rooms to different locations to make space for them.”

Many students are excited about the upcoming renovations, seeing them as a step toward a more modern and resourceful science department.

“I think the current lab rooms are nice, and we definitely have a lot of equipment and resources,” senior Sofia Wainscott said. “But renovating them to include even more resources and better facilities is really exciting. It’s great that future students will get to experience a more updated learning space.”

With anticipation building among both students and faculty, the renovation project promises to bring a fresh, innovative approach to science education at New Trier.

“I’m really excited to see what they do,” Wainscott said.